The train had travelled from Dar es Salaam to the state of Dodoma in Central Tanzania, had passed Msagali, and was nearing the city of Dodoma when it began climbing the tracks at a hill called Igandu.
The driver stopped the train near the summit of the hill, inspected and adjusted the braking system, and climbed back into the cab.
The shortage of doctors at Dodoma hospital was so severe that the Tanzanian health minister, Anna Abdallah, was obliged to help more than 400 people who were badly injured.
Finally in 2007 the TRC was concessioned to the Rites Consortium of India in 2007, but was eventually reclaimed by the Tanzanian government in 2011.
There was also speculation, emphatically denied by both the organisation and Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye, that the crash was sabotage committed by angry train union members who were protesting the pending sale of the company, but no evidence of this has ever been provided.